NEW ALBANY, Ind. — Former Clark County Sheriff Jamey Noel has been accused of corruption on many levels.
He's accused of spending over $3.5 million from his fire and EMS companies on personal purchases for he and his family without declaring it as income. He's accused of using the jail commissary fund to bankroll a close friend for "consulting work". He's accused of transferring vehicles from the sheriff's office or his companies to himself for $0 or $1. He's accused of taking Clark County government surplus and storing or selling it himself. And he's accused of defrauding his nieces and nephews by profiting from his dead brother's estate.
He's racked up 25 felonies and pleaded not guilty to all of them.
"It's stunning to begin to understand what happened," Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said.
Representing Floyd County as a Republican for 16 years now, Clere said he kept his distance from Noel.
"We had very limited interactions. And part of the reason we had very limited interactions is because I didn't like what I was seeing from very early on in my service," he said.
Clere is now focused on how he and his colleagues can change Indiana law to increase oversight and stop more situations like this.
"This is something we need to address as a state," Clere said.
Clere is most concerned with the alleged misuse of public funds, and wants more eyeballs on the contracts that gave Noel roughly $2 million per year.
On Wednesday, Governor Eric Holcomb (R) signed HB 1328. Clere added a passage to this bill in committee that requires the public posting of all fire and EMS contracts to Indiana Gateway, the state's government transparency website. Right now, state law only requires the posting of contracts above $50,000.
"If the public and the media have access to these agreements, then they will have the ability to ask questions. And in some cases, tough questions," Clere said.
Noel had four government contracts funding his former fire and EMS companies, which are called New Chapel EMS, New Chapel Fire and Utica Township Volunteer Firefighters Association. Only one of those contracts was less than $50,000 and it is the one FOCUS has been unable to get.
"Clearly the status quo isn't working," Clere said.
We also brought up what we found when interviewing members of the New Albany Township Fire Protection District board of trustees. While their $1.3 million contract with Noel required yearly financial reporting and for the district to approve New Chapel Fire's budget, that wasn't happening.
The members are appointed by the Floyd County Commissioners, and are required to meet at least four times per year. The president of the board of trustees said it's not a very big time commitment, they get paid $250 per year for the appointment, and many of them have full time jobs. The Floyd County Commissioners also have zero ability to regulate the board of trustees besides appointments.
"$250 seems really low, compared to the oversight they should be providing," Clere said. "I'm not suggesting there should be any pay level or meeting frequency, but obviously what has been in place hasn't worked."
Clere said the requirement to post contracts is just one step towards greater transparency. He also said since Noel was charged, he's done some of his own research, and he believes similar things could be happening in other parts of Indiana.
"I'm concerned about what I'm hearing. The Jamey Noel case is certainly an extreme case, but it's not the only case," Clere said.
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